Mennonite Central Committee

First Person: Victor Reyes Deramona

From the November/December 2006 issue of "a Common Place"



Here in Teticic where I was born, the land is very dry and we farmers have a hard time growing enough food to support our families. So in 1999 I decided to go and work in the United States for two or three years. I stayed only one year.

Instead of working in fields like I do here, I worked in a factory in Corona, Calif. My wife and children stayed here in Mexico, and I lived in an apartment with eight other people. One family slept in the bedroom on the second floor. The rest of us slept in the living room. We split groceries and took turns paying bills.

I made $450 every two weeks. At first, you pay back the money you borrowed to pay the coyote (the person who guides immigrants across the border). I owed $1,600. We pay back that money, plus interest. The person I borrowed money from was from my family, but even so, I had to pay him. When I arrived in the United States it took me 15 days to find work. During those 15 days I borrowed more money for food.

When I was coming home from work some people in my neighborhood would often stop me and demand money. They said if I didn’t give them money, they would hit me. So I gave them $50. This would happen when they knew I would get a paycheck.

I tell you the reason I came back to Teticic after only one year: I didn’t want to give money to those people any more. Also, in the United States, you pay for gas, electricity, water. (Teticic has no running water or gas lines.) You need to always be checking in with your family because they might be sick. But it’s not the same to talk by telephone.

I am 41 years old now, and I have 10 children. Right now, I have one son in the United States. He left four years ago. He was accused of killing someone, and he’s been in prison for two years. The problem is, we don’t know what it’s like there. We don’t know how the government works. We can’t even visit him. We would need to pass the border.

My next oldest son has wanted to go to the United States for a year now. I haven’t let him go. I said he needs one or two more years here.

I have thought about returning to the United States. I feel I can’t right now because my children are growing. But the children also need things. For example, my son just finished primary school. For him to go to secondary school, I would need to find a place for him to live in Olinalá (a town an hour and a half away) and pay for costs such as books and uniforms. It is too far for him to come and go every day. Here in Teticic we’re wanting a secondary school, but up until now we haven’t had one. Sixteen children graduated this year. All of these children have to leave if they want to study.

I would rather be here in Teticic. But there’s no money for living. Now that MCC has started to help us, maybe we’ll see that life will change for us.

I got a dry latrine through an MCC project a year or two ago. This is better. Before, the animals would walk through where we used the toilet. Now, the chicken and hens are cleaner. We eat them and they’re cleaner.

When I was in the United States, MCC built cisterns here. This time, I hope it’s my turn to build one. We can see the tank is very serviceable.

I’m part of a group of farmers growing chiles in a greenhouse that MCC gave us a loan to build. It’s going really well for us. We would like to grow tomatoes and cucumbers in the greenhouse also.

Victor Reyes Deramona, who now farms his land in Teticic, Mexico, is not the only one in his family drawn
to the United States. Two of his brothers have been in California for years and have both contributed to the building of a large, two-story home in Teticic. Another brother, Juan, chose to stay in Teticic.